Value Of Grain Research Articles

“Wild barley serves as a source for biofortification of barley grains”

The continuing growth of the human population creates an inevitable necessity for higher crop yields, which are mandatory for the supply with adequate amounts of food. However, increasing grain yield may lead to a reduction of grain quality, such as a decline in protein and mineral nutrient concentrations causing the so-called hidden hunger. To assess the interdependence between quantity and quality and to evaluate the biofortification potential of wild barley, we conducted field studies, examining the interplay between plant development, yield, and nutrient concentrations, using HEB-YIELD, a subset of the wild barley nested association mapping population HEB-25. A huge variation of nutrient concentration in grains was obtained, since we identified lines with a more than 50% higher grain protein, iron, and zinc concentration in comparison to the recurrent parent ‘Barke’. We observed a negative relationship between grain yield and nutritional value in barley, indicated by predominantly negative correlations between yield and nutrient concentrations. Analyzing the genetic control of nutrient concentration in mature grains indicated that numerous genomic regions determine the final nutritional value of grains and wild alleles were frequently associated with higher nutrient concentrations. The targeted introgression of wild barley alleles may enable biofortification in future barley breeding.

Soil Fertility, Onion-Maize Productivity and N-Use Efficiency as Affected by Green Manure, Mineral and Bio Fertilizers.

SOIL fertility was and still one of the most important factors controlling the productivity of crops. A field experiment was conducted at Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Egypt to assess the effect of green manure, bio-N fertilizer and mineral nitrogen fertilizer on some soil properties, mineral nitrogen fertilizer efficiency (i.e., N-use efficiency) and yield of onion (in winter season 2015/2016) following by maize (in summer 2016). Treatments included bio-N-fertilizers, mineral nitrogen fertilizer and green manure. The results showed that using all green manures (i.e., Egyptian clover and fenugreek) before planting onion significantly developed soil properties; increased availability of the studied nutrients and total porosity. Inoculations with bio-fertilizer maximize these effects on soil properties and yield of onion and maize. Interaction between fenugreek with bio-fertilizer and mineral N-fertilizer at 120 kg fed-1 attained the highest values of total onion yield, averages of bulb weight, diameter, dry matter content and nutrients-uptake of NPK in the first season after green manure application. After cultivation of maize, the highest values of grain and dry stalks yields, 100-grain weight and NPK-uptake were obtained with the interaction of Egyptian clover with bio-fertilizer and N-fertilizer at 90 kg fed-1. The use of Egyptian clover as green manure with bio-fertilizer increased N-use efficiency for onion at 60 kg N fed-1 and for maize grain yield was at 120 kg N fed-1. So, the study concluded importance of using green manures to improve soil properties and use efficiency of mineral nitrogen fertilizer.

Considerations on the Role of Romanian Rice Production and Its Influence on the Commercial Relationship of the Product

Rice is distinguished by its multifaceted importance: food (high nutritive value of grains), medical (used in the manufacture of medicines or treatment of certain diseases), industrial (beer, alcohol, cosmetics, paper making, craft products), feed (the by-products can be used in the feeding of animal species), crop management (recovery of the soils). Rice can be considered a species with superior productive potential, placing immediately after maize from this point of view. In Romania, varieties with a short period of vegetation are grown, due to specific climatic conditions. This paper seeks to present the evolution of rice production in Romania for the period 1989-2013, in terms of cultivated area, total production, average production, but also imports and exports of this product. For Romania, there has been a marked variation in the area (105-49,300 ha), the total production (253-70,200 t), the average production (1,263-5,426 kg/ha), the imported quantities (0-95,090 t) and exported quantities (0-48,363 t). The analysis is carried out in the context of a very variable economic and social climate, at national level, taking into account the major changes of the Romanian society related to: the change of the organization form of the national economy (transition from the centralized economy to the market economy) and Romania's accession to the EU in 2007. Romania is not an important producer of rice at European and world level, but on the basis of the existing potential for this culture, it is possible to reduce the imported quantities to cover the domestic consumption needs, as well as to better use the existing potential related to this crop.

A Comparative Study on Rheological, Functional and Color Properties of Improved Millet Varieties and Injera

Millets are important food crops in semi-arid and tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The cooking and eating quality of foods are determined by the rheological, functional and color properties of flours. In this research, four finger millet varieties (Axum, Padet, Tadese and Tesema) and one pearl millet variety (Kola-1) were collected. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rheological, functional and color characteristics of improved millet varieties grown in Ethiopia. A significant (p<0.05) variations were observed among the five millet flours in their pasting profiles. Pearl millet variety, Kola-1 showed the highest flour solubility (12.86%), pasting temperature (77.4°C) and the lowest flour swelling power (195.54 g/g), peak viscosity, trough viscosity, breakdown viscosity, setback viscosity, final viscosity and falling number with a values of 855 cP, 293.5 cP, 561.5 cP, 540 cP, 833.5 cP and 197.5 sec, respectively compared to finger millet varieties. Padet had the highest flour water absorption index (3.24 g/g), pasting profiles (3434 cP, 1704 cP, 1730 cP, 2042 cP and 3746 cP) and the lowest pasting temperature (75.02°C). The water absorption capacity of flours was ranged from 116.11 to 120.68%, the highest for flours from Tesema. Kola-1 was significantly differed in gel length and gel consistency from other varieties and was found to have a short gel length and hard gel. In terms of color properties, Kola-1 had the highest L* (57.11) and ∆E (41.85) values for grain, b* (4.21) value for flour, b* (8.4) and ∆E (42.14) values for injera. Baking resulted in a significant reduction in L* value and increment in a* and b* color values.

Экономическая эффективность производства зерна

The article presents the results of research on the economic efficiency of the production of spring wheat grain at different selling prices. They were obtained in the fields of grain-crop crop rotation, depending on the tillage systems on different chemicalization backgrounds in the multifactorial stationary field experiment in the Siberian Federal Agrobiotechnology Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the territory of the OPKh “Elitnoe” Novosibirsk region (central forest-steppe subzone). It has been established that with the realizable value of grain of 7 and 8 thousand rubles per ton, this crop can be successfully grown only according to the steam precursor and mainly on an extensive background. As a predecessor in this case, the early minimum pair is most preferable, black pairs with flat-cut strip depth processing and with minimal processing, in which the profitability of grain production was 75.8%, 69.2 and 67.9% at 7 thousand rubles per ton and 100.9%, 93.4 and 91.8% with 8 thousand rubles per ton respectively. In other cases, at such rates for the grain predecessor on all chemicalization backgrounds, the cultivation of wheat was unprofitable, except for the option of plowing against an extensive background, where it was reasonable to grow wheat for the grain predecessor only at 8 thousand rubles per ton. With a realizable value of wheat of 10 thousand rubles per ton, it is economically advantageous to grow this crop both in pairs and in the grain precursor on the chemicalization backgrounds under study. At such prices, the profit from the sale of grain on an extensive background for the grain predecessor was the highest for plowing - 4355.59 rubles per hectare, significantly less in the variants with soil protection treatments (2645.47-3745.02 rubles per hectare) and “zero” treatment - 2865.65 rubles per hectare. Against an intensive background, high rates of profit were noted in the variant with flat-cut strip depth processing (9091.70 rubles per hectare), for other treatments it was less and varied from 6519.93 to 7223.43 rubles per hectare. The maximum economic effect was obtained from the cultivation of wheat for a couple, where the profit on an extensive background was 16,832.68 rubles per hectare, and on an intensive background - 12894.56 rubles per hectare with current prices for fuels and lubricants and pesticides.

Response of Rice Yield and Yield Components as well as Grain Quality to Number and Levels of Zinc Foliar Spraying Application

TWO field experiments were conducted during the summer season of 2014 and 2015 growing successive seasons at the Experimental Station of Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Shalakan, Kalubia Governorate, Egypt, to investigate the response of rice crop yield and yield components as well as grain quality to the number (once, 45 DAS; twice, 60 DAS and thrice, 75 DAS) and levels (0, 200, 400, 600 and 800ppm Zn) of zinc foliar spraying application. Experimental design was split plot design with three replications, where, number of zinc foliar application occupied the main plots and zinc levels distributed in the sub plots. Application of 600ppm Zn gave the highest values of panicle number/m2, panicle length, spikelets numbers/panicle, panicle weight, filled grains percent, filled grains numbers/panicle and 1000 grain weight. Foliar application of 600ppm Zn showed the highest values of grain crude protein content, soluble carbohydrate, GNY, SNY, TNY, NRE and NUE. Thrice zinc foliar application gave the maximum values of panicle length, spikelets numbers/panicle, panicle weight, filled grains percent and filled grains numbers/panicle. While, panicle number/m2 and 1000 grain weight were slightly affected by number of zinc foliar application. Application of thrice zinc foliar application at the level of 600ppm exhibited the highest values of grain, straw, biological and GCP yields as well as most of yield attributes and nitrogen physiological parameters.

Integration of superior varieties of sidenuk rice production with beef cattle business

Utilization of nuclear techniques in agriculture, animal husbandry and environment has found technology of superior varieties of rice with the name of SiDenuk, animal feed (feed supplement and concentrate plus) and organic fertilizer worm (kascing). The technologies have been disseminated, but the profitability of livestock farmers only comes from the sale of one commodity, so the income are still not optimal. The purpose of this research activity was to find out how far the profit income from farmers when the three technologies were integrated. The methodology used was the BATAN (INTAAN) integration model between SiDenuk rice with animal feed and kascing fertilizer. The three stages that have been implemented were 1) observation of the production of rice, straw, panicle compared to the national superior varieties, and the economic aspects of SiDenuk rice business unit, 2) the treatment of kascing fertilizer for SiDenuk Rice and 3) the economic aspect of the INTAAN application model. The observed parameters consisted of rice production, rice straw, panicle, rice production and economic aspects.The experimental design used in this study was Completely Randomized Design. The data were analyzed by variance analysis (ANOVA) using SPSS version 20. Step 1, rice production and Si Denuk rice straw tended to be higher than Ciherang, Ir-64, Mikongga and Mentikwangi, while the amount of rice in panicles was significantly different at P <0.05. The value of grain in panicles was 190, 120 and 116 seeds. The economic value of farmers harvests was Rp.1202500 / 1000 m2. Step 2. Treatment by kascing (K), compared with compost (C) and combination of K + C was able to affect rice production, and number of panicles in grain, but the production of paddy was not significantly different, only tended to be higher if given treatment of the K fertilizer. The numbers of rice production and panicle were 720 and 608 vs. 452 kg / 1000 m2 of dry harvest grains respectively, and 170.6 and 162.6 vs. 150.2 seeds/panicles. Step 3. The advantages of using INTAAN model related to Si Denuk rice production integration with beef cattle business were Rp 5594055.56, Rp 5778699.97, Rp 6107833.34, Rp 8383224.35 and Rp 8661321.29. The conclusion shows that rice varieties SiDenuk, grain production, rice straw was higher than national varieties, kascing fertilizer increased rice production, panicle and tended to increase rice straw production compared with fertilization with compost. INTAAN model was able to get the value of sales profit higher than the value of profit from the sale of one commodity.

Scaling of resistive random access memory devices beyond 100 nm2: influence of grain boundaries studied using scanning tunneling microscopy

Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM) has emerged as the successor to FLASH in memory technology due to its multi-level fabrication possibilities and prospects of scaling down virtually to atomic dimensions. However, as we report here, when polycrystalline switching materials are used, the ReRAM devices scaled down to the sub-5 nm2 area show complete randomness due to inhomogeneous conductance values of grains and grain boundaries. By measuring the switching properties of grains and grain boundaries individually using a scanning tunneling microscope, we demonstrate that the doublet and triplet grain boundaries behave like degenerate semiconductors and act as conduction channels that bypass the resistive switching of the devices. Fabricating virtual devices using gold clusters deposited on top, we show that the random distribution of such highly conducting grain boundaries reduces the reliability of nano-scale ReRAM devices when scaled down to the sub-10 nm scale.

RESPONSE OF YELLOW MAIZE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY TO INTEGRATION BETWEEN MINERAL AND ORGANIC NITROGEN FERTILIZERS UNDER NEWLY RECLAIMED SOILS CONDITIONS

Two field experiments were carried out at a private farm (newly reclaimed soil) at Somusta city, Bani-Suif governorate, Egypt, during 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. These experiments aimed to evaluate the application of different nitrogen sources and their combinations for increasing the productivity and quality of yellow maize (zea mays). Results showed that: Maize plants fertilized with120 kg MN/fad. recorded the greatest leaves number/plant (12.67) and number of green leaves /plant (12.67) after 45 days from sowing, however, the applied application of 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP /fad gave the maximum number of leaves /plant (15.17 and 17.83) and number of green leaves /plant (15.17 and 16.33) at stages of vegetative growth after 60 and 75 days from sowing, respectively. application of 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP /fad gave the highest values of leaf area index (LAI) at all stages of vegetative growth 3.16, 3.98 and 6.39 from 45, 60 and 75 days from sowing, respectively. At harvest maize plants fertilized with 60 kg MN/ fad + 60 kg ONP /fad recorded the highest value of grains number/row (32.83) followed by 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONC/fad. the highest values of ears number/plant were recorded with the treatments 60 kg MN/ fad + 60 kg ONC /fad, 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP/fad and 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONF/ fad with the same value (2.00). Data also revealed that the highest value of grain weight/plant (274.49) was recorded at 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP/fad treatment. Application of 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP/fad produced significant maximum grain yield (3.05 ton/fad.), biological yield (6.37 ton/fad) and grain crude protein yield (296.83 kg/fad). Maize plants treated with 60 kg MN/fad + 60 kg ONP/fad gave the highest values of grain and straw nitrogen percentage by 1.17 and 0.42% respectively. In addition the highest values of grain and straw phosphor percentage (0.49 and 0.20 %) and potassium percentage (4.30 and 1.90%) respectively were recorded with 120 kg ONP/fad.

Dual Inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum MF135558 and Klebsiella oxytoca MF135559 Enhance the Growth and Yield of Wheat Plant and Reduce N-Fertilizers Usage

A field experiment was carried out in the farm of faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt during the winter season of 2016 to study the effect of bio-fertilization under different level of nitrogen (75% and 50% of the full dose) on the growth and yield of wheat plant. Obtained results showed that the microbial inoculation leads to a significant increase in growth parameters (plant heights, number of tillers, leaves and dry weights). Also, microbial inoculation leads to a significant increase in NPK-contents as responded to all treatments under investigation in all stages of plant growth. The obtained results show a significant increase in yield parameters and its components (spike length, spike weight , number of grains / spike, weight of 1000 grains, grain and straw yield and NPK contents in grains and straw) as affected by microbial inoculation. The treatment T 9 (Az. chroococcum + K. oxytoca + 75 % dose of N) gave the highest value of grains and straw yield (19.61 and 3.13 ton/fed., respectively) with an increase by 21.87% and 19.01%, respectively. Also, the bio-fertilization has a pronounced increase in microbial count in comparison with the mineral fertilization. The present study recommend by the possibility of using the dual bacterial inoculum which containing Azotobacter chroococcum MF135558 and Klebsiella oxytoca MF135559 in the presence of 75% dose of N for enhancing growth and yield of wheat plants and reduce chemical fertilizers usage.

Assessment of Genetical Parameters of Yield and its Attributes in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.)

The experiment was performed at the Experimental Farm of Agronomy Department , Faculty of Agric. Al-Azhar Univ. Naser City, Cairo, Egypt during the two following growing seasons 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. Eight parents of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum , L.) illustrate a wide range of diversity for some agronomic traits were selected for the study namely; Gemmiza 11, Giza 168, Sids 14, Masr 2, Sids 12, Sakha 95, Masr 1 and Sakha 94 were crossed at 2016/2017 growing season in one direction diallel cross . The genetic analysis (variance, combining ability, heterosis, and type of gene actions) of grain yield / plant and some related traits were evaluated at 2017/2018. Results indicated that variances of genotypes, parents and crosses were highly significant for all evaluated traits. The variances connected to general and specific combining abilities were established be highly significant for all evaluated traits, except number of kernels /spike for GCA .The estimates of GCA/SCA were less than unity recommended the greater amount of non- additive gene actions in determining the performance of all traits. The crosses (P1xP2), (P2xP6); (P3xP5), (P3xP6) and (P5xP6) recorded greatest mean values for grain yield/plant.P6 and P8 were considered as the best general combiners for grain yield /plant . The best crosses for SCA and heterosis effect for grain yield / plant recorded for P1xP2, P3xP8 and P5xP6 where be revealed highly significant and positive SCA and high percent heterosis making them hybrid promising in breeding programs for crop improvement . Hayman and Morley –Jones testing showed that the ratio of (H1/D)1/2 is larger than one for all the studied traits, so over dominance is participating in the genetic of these traits .Estimates of percentage of negative and positive genes (H2/4H1) in the parents ranged from 0.18 for plant height to 0.23 for number of kernels /spike and grain yield /plant hence, negative and positive alleles are consistent distributed in this traits. Heritability in broad-sense were high values detected for all the studied traits, indicated that these traits are more genetic, while narrow sense heritability were low for no. of spikes/plant, spike length and grain yield / plant , so the role of additive part is low. Significant differences were observe for additive (a) effect for all the studied traits in Morley Jones method, Also , dominance (b) part was significant for all the studied traits, appropriately these traits are controlled by both dominance and additive type of gene actions. As (b2) and (b3) were highly significant for all the studied traits, thus epistasis is participating in their genetics. As the part(b1) was significant for all the evaluated traits, with the exception of plant height and 1000-kernel weight, so dominance genes were attributable to directional dominance. Significant (b2) part for all traits showing imbalance of gene giving out for these traits. Significant (b3) part for all traits showed residual dominance effect (b3) outcome from additive × additive, additive × dominance and dominance × dominance interactions .

ADAPTABILITI AND ECONOMIC BIOLOGICAL EVLUATION OF INTENSIVE VARIETIES OF GRAIN CROPS ON SOD _ PODZOLIC SOILS OF NON - BLACK EARTH REGION

The study of ecological adaptability of different economic and biological indicators of intensive varieties of grain and leguminous crops for use in feed grain-grass crop rotation is aimed at increasing the production of high-quality concentrated feed. Objects of research: intensive varieties of spring wheat, barley, lupine (yellow, narrow - leaved and white), peas (sowing and field-PELs) and soybeans. In 3 experiments 13 varieties of spring wheat, 7 varieties of spring barley and 16 varieties of 6 types of legumes were studied. It was found that the adaptability of spring wheat, barley and peas against the background of intensive technology on a set of indicators above other cultures. The main stressor wheat varieties in the experiments, the deficiency of moisture and heat in the initial period of the growing season, spring barley - diseases (rust, leaf spot) pea pests (pea moth), Lupin, weeds and diseases, soy - sensitivity, lack of heat, weeds and disease.. On intensive soil fertility varieties of spring wheat «Lyubava», «Kamenka», «Madam», «Zlata» and «Rook» shaped grain crop at 7.3-8.0 t/ha, spring barley «Reliable» - 7.0 t/ha and peas «Before-100”-3,4 t/ha. the results of the comparison of the chemical composition and nutritional value of grain of different crops varieties have confirmed a special feeding value of soybean (14.5 and 15.3 MJ of energy; of 37.8-42.8 % of crude protein; The 17.8 was 23.0 crude fat in 1 kg DM), high contents of certain nutrients in the grain, other kinds: crude protein in yellow lupine (41,0 %) and white (of 37.3 and 39.9 %, respectively), starch - in cereals and peas (38,5 vs. 50.6 %), crude fiber - blue lupine (14,5-22,1 %), especially in determinantal varieties (of 20.9-22.1 per cent). Leguminous cultures were allocated by the greatest maintenance in grain of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and grain cultures - carrying out them with a crop. The grain of all kinds of lupine calcium content of the highest (3.8-5.5 g/kg), the lowest - in peas and wheat (0.8-1.1 g/kg BW).

Complex impedance spectroscopy of perovskite microwave dielectric ceramics with high dielectric constant

AbstractThe AC impedance of SrTiO3, Ca0.9Sr0.1TiO3, Ca0.7Sm0.2TiO3, and Ca0.7Sm0.3Ti0.7Al0.3O3 microwave dielectric ceramics with perovskite structures has been analyzed. The impedance spectroscopy results reveal the electrical properties of this series of samples vary significantly with the ceramic microstructure and electrical homogeneity. The εr values of grains for SrTiO3 and Ca0.9Sr0.1TiO3 ceramics are 193.8 and 138.1, respectively, confirming that dielectric response of the high‐εr microwave ceramics is contributed to the grains, at microwave frequencies. Impedance spectroscopy of Ca0.7Sm0.2TiO3 ceramic illustrates that electrical heterogeneous microstructures include interior grains and grain shells. The secondary phase existing in Ca0.7Sm0.2TiO3 ceramic causes deviation in bulk permittivity, resulting in a higher εr ~ 148 of grains than εr ~ 112 of bulk permittivity, measured at microwave frequencies. Grain and grain‐boundary impedance of Ca0.7Sm0.3Ti0.7Al0.3O3 ceramic cannot be separated completely. The permittivities of grains and grain boundaries in Ca0.7Sm0.3Ti0.7Al0.3O3 ceramic are εg ~ 17.8 and εgb ~ 20.8, and the combination of them is close to εr ~ 40 at microwave frequencies. The LogI−LogU curves of the ceramic system indicate that the conducting mechanism of grains and grain boundaries follows ohmic behavior.

Mineral Composition and Baking Value of the Winter Wheat Grain under Varied Environmental and Agronomic Conditions

The mineral composition of cereal crops, the technological value of grain and flour, as well as bread quality are affected by the genotype, environment, and agronomic management practices. The aim of the research has been to investigate the effect of the environment and agronomic factors on the mineral composition and baking value of winter wheat grain. Opal cultivar grain of the genetically determined prime-quality wheat was obtained in a two-year field experiment (varied soil and weather). The agronomic management practices included tillage (conventional moldboard-plow, reduced ploughless, and strip-till) and nitrogen fertilisation rate (100 kg·N·ha−1, 200 kg·N·ha−1). In the grain samples, the content of macronutrients was assayed: P, K, Mg, Ca, and Na, total protein, and wet gluten as well as sedimentation value. The colour and the water absorption of flour and its content of protein and ash were determined. Laboratory baking was performed. It was found that the content of protein and gluten in grain, sedimentation value, bread volume, and weight changed depending on the environmental conditions and research years. Tillage and nitrogen rate, despite an effect on the properties of grain and flour, did not differentiate, however, the bread quality. The environmental conditions and agronomic management practices did not have a significant effect on the content of mineral nutrients in grain, except for calcium. The biofortification with mineral nutrients in prime-quality winter wheat cultivar grain by selecting the environmental and agronomic conditions seems more difficult than increasing the content of organic compounds and enhancement of flour and bread parameters.

The effect of sulphur and nitrogen supply on the growth and nutrient content of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Sulphur is an essential element for plants. Decreasing sulphur deposition from the air, and the use of more concentrated phosphate fertilizers, which contain no sulphur, has led to reports of sulphur deficiencies for wheat. Sulphur deficiency significantly affects yield and also the quality of wheat. The pot experiment was set up on calcareous chernozem soil at Látókép, Hungary, test plant was spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L). Seven treatments were used where nitrogen and sulphur were supplied as soil fertilizers in increasing rates (NS1, NS2, NS3) and in foliar fertilizer as well (NS1+fol., NS2+fol., NS3+fol.). Plant aboveground biomass production was determined in samples taken in the stages of development BBCH 29-30, 51-59, 61-69, 89. The nitrogen and sulphur content of straw and grain were measured. N/S ratios of grain and straw were calculated. The weights of grain were ranging between 8.6–16.1 g/pot. NS2 and NS2+fol. treatments produced the highest values. Foliar fertilizer had no further effect on grain. Analysing the values of the straw, it was observed that tendencies were similar to values of grain. The NS2 treatment produced the highest weight of straw and the NS3 rate already decreased that amount. The obtained results show the unfavourable effect of excessively high rate applied in NS3 treatment. The supplementary foliar fertilizer had no significant influence on the weight of straw. Both N and S-uptake of plant was very intensive at the stem elongation stage, then the N and S-content of plant continuously decreased in time in all treatments. The N-content of grain ranged between 2.215–2.838%.&#x0D; The N-content of grain slightly increased with increasing of nitrogen doses. In the higher doses (NS2, NS3) foliar fertilization slightly increased the nitrogen content of grain, although this effect was not statistically proved. The N-content of straw varied from 0.361 to 0.605%. The growing dose of soil fertilizer also considerably increased the nitrogen content of straw. Foliar fertilization further increased the nitrogen content of straw. The S-content of grain ranged between 0.174–0.266%. The lowest fertilizer dose (NS1) significantly increased the sulphur content of grain. The further increasing fertilizer doses (NS2, NS3) did not cause additional enhance in sulphur content of grain.&#x0D; The foliar fertilizer also did not change the sulphur value of plant. The increasing amount of soil fertilizer and the supplementary foliar fertilizer had no effect on the sulphur content of straw. The treatments influenced the N/S ratios of grain and straw. On the basis of experimental results it can be concluded that the examined nitrogen and sulphur containing soil fertilizer had positive effect on the growth and yield of spring wheat grown on the calcareous chernozem soil. The soil fertilizer application enhanced the grain nitrogen and sulphur content. The highest rate of fertilizer (600 kg ha-1) proved to have decreasing effect on the yield. The sulphur and nitrogen containing foliar fertilizer did not have significant effect on the yield parameters but slightly increased the nitrogen content of plant.

Separating macro- (Type I) and micro- (Type II+III) residual stresses by ring-core FIB-DIC milling and eigenstrain modelling of a plastically bent titanium alloy bar

A novel approach to separating macroscopic (Type I) from microscopic (Type II + III) residual stress is presented, based on Focused Ion Beam – Digital Image Correlation (FIB-DIC) ring-core stress evaluation and eigenstrain modelling. This approach was applied to study the residual stresses for a titanium alloy bar following plastic four-point bending. It was found that electrochemical polishing is a surface preparation technique that is very well suited for FIB-DIC ring-core measurements, in the sense that it removes the influence of prior sample grinding and polishing, leads to a stress profile that satisfies force and moment equilibrium, and thus enables the evaluation of absolute values of total residual stress. The obtained relief strain profile across the bar width is asymmetric, highlighting the difference in the alloy's response to tension and compression. Total experimental residual stress values were calculated using (i) the assumption of material elastic isotropy, with an average Young's modulus, and (ii) under the assumption of elastic anisotropy, taking into account the crystallographic orientation of each investigated grain. Based on the measured relief strain values, the eigenstrain distribution in the bar was reconstructed and used to obtain the macroscopic (Type I) residual stress profile. The differences in the residual stress between the eigenstrain reconstruction values and the individual experimental results were ascribed to the local microscopic (Type II + III) residual stresses. This conclusion was substantiated by revealing the correlation between the residual stress values in individual grains in the elastic zone and their respective Young's moduli in the loading direction, as well as the correlation between the residual stress values in grains located in the plastic zone and their respective Schmid factors for basal slip.

Analyses of starch biosynthetic protein complexes and starch properties from developing mutant rice seeds with minimal starch synthase activities

BackgroundStarch is the major component of cereal grains and is composed of essentially linear amylose and highly branched amylopectin. The properties and composition of starch determine the use and value of grains and their products. Starch synthase (SS) I, SSIIa, and SSIIIa play central roles in amylopectin biosynthesis. These three SS isozymes also affect seed development, as complete loss of both SSI and SSIIIa under reduced SSIIa activity in rice lead to sterility, whereas presence of minimal SSI or SSIIIa activity is sufficient for generating fertile seeds. SSs, branching enzymes, and/or debranching enzymes form protein complexes in cereal. However, the relationship between starch properties and the formation of protein complexes remain largely unknown. To better understand this phenomenon, properties of starch and protein complex formation were analyzed using developing mutant rice seeds (ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a) in which all three major SS activities were reduced.ResultsThe SS activity of ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a was 25%–30% that of the wild-type. However, the grain weight of ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a was 89% of the wild-type, 55% of which was starch, showing considerable starch synthesis. The reduction of soluble SS activity in ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a resulted in increased levels of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and granule-bound starch synthase I, which are responsible for substrate synthesis and amylose synthesis, respectively. Together, these features led to an increase in apparent amylose content (34%) in ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a compared with wild-type (20%). Gel filtration chromatography of the soluble proteins in ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a showed that the majority of the starch biosynthetic enzymes maintained the similar elution patterns as wild-type, except that the amounts of high-molecular-weight SSI (> 300 kDa) were reduced and SSIIa of approximately 200–300 kDa were present instead of those > 440 kDa, which predominate in wild-type. Immuno-precipitation analyses suggested that the interaction between the starch biosynthetic enzymes maybe reduced or weaker than in wild-type.ConclusionsAlthough major SS isozymes were simultaneously reduced in ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a rice, active protein complexes were formed with a slightly altered pattern, suggesting that the assembly of protein complexes may be complemented among the SS isozymes. In addition, ss1L/ss2aL/ss3a maintained the ability to synthesize starch and accumulated less amylopectin and more amylose in starch.

Structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of cobalt based spinel ferrites

CoYbxFe2-xO4 (x = 0.00, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.10) spinel ferrites were synthesized by co-precipitation technique. Structural, dielectric and magnetic properties were measured. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that all the prepared spinel ferrites possessed cubic spinel structure. Dielectric constant, AC conductivity and dielectric loss decreased with the addition of rare earth ions. The impedance analysis explained the role of grains and grain boundaries with in prepared samples. Cole-Cole plots helped to measure the values of grains and grain boundary's resistance. The magnetic properties proved the soft nature of these ferrites. Saturation magnetization and remanence decreased while coercivity was enhanced with the addition of ytterbium concentration. All these parameters suggested that these prepared samples might be suitable for high frequency applications.

Loop and void damage during heavy ion irradiation on nanocrystalline and coarse grained tungsten: Microstructure, effect of dpa rate, temperature, and grain size

Displacement damage, through heavy ion irradiation was studied on two tungsten grades (coarse grained tungsten (CGW) and nanocrystalline and ultrafine grained tungsten (NCW)) using different displacement per atom rates and different irradiation temperatures (RT and 1050 K). Percentage of <111> and <100> type loops at the irradiation conditions was determined. Irradiation damage in the microstructure was quantified using average loop areas and densities (method A) and loop areal fraction in the grain matrices under 2-beam diffraction conditions (method B). Average values of <111> and <100> loops were calculated from method A. Loop coalescence was shown to occur for CGW at 0.25 dpa. Using both methods of quantifying microstructural damage, no effect of dpa rate was observed and damage in CGW was shown to be the same at RT and 1050 K. Swelling from voids observed at 1050 K was quantified. The loop damage in NCW was compared to CGW at the same diffraction and imaging conditions. NCW was shown to possess enhanced irradiation resistance at RT regarding loop damage and higher swelling resistance at 1050 K compared to CGW. For irradiation at 1050 K, the NCW was shown to have similar defect densities to the CGW which is attributed to higher surface effects in the CGW, vacancy loop growth to voids and a better sink efficiency in the CGW deduced from the vacancy distribution profiles from Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Loop density and swelling was shown to have similar values in grains sizes that range from 80 to 600 nm. No loop or void denuded zones occurred at any of the irradiation conditions. This work has a collection of experiments and conclusions that are of vital importance to materials and nuclear energy communities.

Heating and dehydration of grain and cereals at a combined energy supply

The paper dwells on the development of experimental dependencies of heating and dehydration of grain and cereals when varying the irradiance, ambient temperature in the heat treatment zone and the initial moisture content of product, and the development of the mathematical models for heating and dehydration of some grains and cereals. The grain was heated on the laboratory equipment with quartz halogen linear infrared emitters. The irradiance on the working surface in the treatment zone was determined by calculation using a specially developed program. The ambient temperature was determined by a thermocouple thermometer placed in a ceramic tube. The grain temperature was estimated as average by weight by a thermocouple thermometer after its transfer into a thermally insulated container. The following dependencies have been obtained: 1 - Temperature dependence of the heating time for different heating modes and initial moisture content. 2 - Dependence of moisture content on the heating time under different conditions and initial moisture content. 3 - Dependence of moisture content on a temperature under different conditions and constant initial humidity. The models of the heat-moisture exchange and dehydration processes have been created, and the model parameters K0 and KT of the temperature dependence of some grains have been identified, as well as their dependence on moisture content and treatment modes has been evaluated. It has been established that this model describes adequately the process of dehydration to an extent limited by the upper temperature value of grain not much more than 100 ºÐ¡. Within not limited to the upper temperature value of grain not much more than 100 ºÐ¡. From the presented graphs and earlier obtained results for barley and millet, it can be assumed that the model describes adequately experimental data on the small-sized (3 - 5 mm) objects.